how to delete venmo account

Created for easy payment transactions and shopping on-the-go, Venmo's natural habitat is mobile devices rather than desktop computers. If you've been using Venmo's services, chances are you've been managing your account from your phone.

How to Delete Your Venmo Account on an iPhone

Since you're reading this, perhaps you'd like to switch to something else or terminate your account for another reason. In this article, we'll tell you if it's possible to delete your Venmo account on your iPhone.

Long Story Short

Unfortunately, you can't delete your account in this way. While Venmo relies heavily on mobile devices and phones in particular, right now there's no way to delete your account using the mobile app. There are some important preparation steps, though, that you can do from the app if you've decided to close your Venmo account.

Clearing the Way

Before deleting your Venmo account, you'll need to transfer all remaining funds somewhere else. You can do this the pragmatic way, by sending the funds to your connected bank account. Alternatively, you can send the money to a friend or family member, or do it the fun way and simply spend it!

Whatever the case may be, note that all transfers to bank accounts take two to three days. You can opt for an instant transfer, but there will be a fee of 1% deducted from the total or $10, whichever is the lesser amount. The instant option takes about 30 minutes.

Once you've gotten your balance to zero (and to be clear, it has to be exactly zero), you can use the app to remove your bank details from your account. Here's how it's done:

Open the app and log in.
Next, tap on the three bars menu and go to Settings.
Find Payment methods and select the bank account you want to remove.
Finally, tap Remove bank and it's done – all of your bank account details will be deleted from Venmo.

After you've completed these steps, that's it – the app can't help you anymore with deleting your account.

Finishing the Job

To finalize the process, you'll need to use your computer. Follow the steps below:

Go to the Venmo web portal and log in.
If you've skipped removing the bank account method from the app, you can do the same on the site. The process is basically the same: go to Settings, then to Payment methods, then Remove bank.
Under Profile, scroll down to Close my Venmo Account. Click on it – if there are any funds left, you'll be instructed to transfer them before you can proceed. If you've successfully cleared all funds, you'll get a message with your financial statement. Click Close account and you're done!

Closing account

Now that your Venmo account has been deleted, you'll get an email containing the list of your financial transactions and the confirmation of account closure. Just to double-check, after you've received the email, go to the Venmo site and try to log in with your credentials. If everything went as it should, you won't be able to log in.

Once you confirm your Venmo account doesn't exist, it's perfectly safe to remove the app from your iPhone.

Why Go Through All the Trouble?

Owned by PayPal, one of the most reputable money transfer companies, Venmo had something of a hard time securing the same reputation. Designed for modern users who are more active on social networks, the app features three "news feeds": public, friends-only, and private. These feeds provide details of peer-to-peer transactions, excluding the amount of funds transferred.

Although it's possible to change privacy settings on the app, the social-network approach to financial transactions is bound to raise some concerns. If you're worried about privacy issues, or don't feel comfortable with Venmo's approach, closing your account might be the right choice. Note that should you decide to return to Venmo in the future, you'll need to set up your account from scratch.

All Taken Care of

While there was no way to show you how to delete your Venmo account on iPhone – how-to's for impossible tasks are tough to make – we've done the next best thing and explained the currently available process. Now you've learned how the app can help you through the whole thing, go ahead and take care of your accounts!

Did you delete your Venmo account? What influenced you to make that choice? Tell us in the comments section below!